Creme Egg Mug Cake!

Easter is fast approaching and I've actually gotten my act together this year to get some egg-themed bakes on the blog!

I've started out with a super simple but oh-so-scrumptious Creme Egg filled chocolate mug cake! And by gosh and golly, the ooey gooey centre is something quite special.

Stir all the ingredients into your favourite mug, bang it in the microwave and 1 minute later - out it pops!

The quickest & easiest dessert you'll ever make! (Probably).

It's a lot simpler than my Salted Caramel Mini Egg Millionaire Shortbread recipe, but those pieces of heaven are well worth all the caramel stirring!

I'll be in London with William for Easter this year, probably going Bouldering (our new favourite pastime), probably stuffing our faces with Maltesar Easter egg bunnies and probably cooking roast lamb with aaallll the trimmings for Sunday lunch.

How are you spending yours?

What you'll need//

30g butter
2 tbsp caster sugar
half tsp vanilla extract
1 medium egg
4 level tbsp plain flour
half tsp baking powder
2 level tbsp cocoa powder
1 creme egg

What to do//

Choose your favourite (microwave friendly) mug.

Melt the butter in the microwave.

Stir in the sugar, vanilla and egg.

Sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and stir until the flour has just disappeared.

Cut your creme egg in half and push one half down into the mixture and place one on top.

Pop in the microwave for 1 minute @ 800w.

Enjoy with a blob of ice cream!

Happy early Easter everyone :)

Betty x

Ps, are we instabuddies? If not, pop over and say hi!

Blueberry and Lemon Cake

This majestic looking cake with a crown of blueberries has made my Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 

With a zesty, lemony sponge, dreamy buttercream frosting and fruity jam filling, it's a bit of a winner for any occasion.

I made this beauty for my friend's birthday and put on a bit of an indoor picnic spread complete with fresh tomato and mozzarella sticks, homemade creamy potato salad, mini bacon & chorizo muffins and avocado leafy salad. What a TREAT.

It was ALMOST warm enough to eat outside (I'm in London) but has turned more wintery again so we donned our wooliest jumpers to eat our treats inside with a cup of cwoffee.

We also recorded this video at the same time :) (shameless plug of my other life).

Anyway.....CAKE!!

What you'll need//

x3 6 inch round tins

300g unsalted butter (room temp)
300g caster sugar
6 eggs
zest of a whole lemon
2 tbsp lemon juice
300g self raising flour

for the frosting//
200g unsalted butter (room temp)
400g icing sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
half tsp vanilla bean paste (I use this one)

5-6 tbsp jam of choice
approx 25 blueberries

What to do//

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (fan) and line x3 6 inch round tins with greaseproof paper.

Cream together your butter and sugar until a lovely pale colour.

Mix in your eggs, lemon zest and juice.

Sift in your flour and mix until the flour has disappeared, do not over mix the batter or your cake can become dry.

Pour equally into your tins and bake for 35-40 minutes depending on your oven. If a knife comes out clean, you're all good to go!

Leave in tins for 5 minutes before tipping onto a wire rack to completely cool.

For the frosting //

With an electric hand mixer, whip up the butter for a few minutes so it turns pale.

Sift in your icing sugar 200g at a time.

Add the lemon juice and mix.

If your frosting is too wet add more icing sugar, if too stiff add a bit more lemon juice.

Refrigerate until your cakes are completely cooled.

I piped a ring of frosting on the outer circumference of each cake and filled in the middle with jam. This is so the jam won't leak when you frost the outside of the cake!

Frost the whole of the cake and use a cake scraper (I use this one) to get a nice smooth finish. Plop the blueberries on top in a pretty pattern and that's you done for the day! Grab a glass of wine - you deserve it!

My friend's just launched this super fun range of mugs along with another for cat lovers! I took a few promo shots for him and they're over on my Instagram if you want to take a look :) 

This was the only photo I took of the inside of the cake, A) because I forgot to and B) because I got hungry...

So there you go - now you can see the jammy middle :)

Enjoy budding bakers!

Betty x